Specific resources available for cross cultural health care and especially for students of International Health interested in related issues are included in the Annotated International Health WWW Pages that follow.

ACCION International is a non-profit organization that fights poverty through microlending. One of the world's leading microfinance organizations. Dedicated to bringing financial services to the smallest of small business people - street vendors, seamstresses, sandal makers.

Adventist Development & Relief Agency International (ADRA) is the humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist church working to improve the quality of life for people in developing countries through community and program development without regard to race, political or religious association.

Africare is a private, non-profit organization, dedicated to improving the quality of life in rural Africa by providing assistance in five principal areas: agriculture, water resource development, environmental management, health and emergency humanitarian aid.

Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) is a major government sponsor of research related to clinical practice outcomes and policy. Though primarily concerned with domestic research, some of AHCPR's work is concerned with international research, comparative studies, and cross-national practice standards.

American Red Cross International Division is an impartial, neutral and independent organization with an exclusive humanitarian mission for victims of war and internal violence. It also endeavors to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles

American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH)  provides listings of overseas opportunities and many links to organizations and information about locations, type of work, financial arrangements, contacts, etc., travel clinic directory, funding and fellowships, and more. ASTMH publishes The Am. J. of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene which also provides an extensive listing of overseas opportunities.

Amigos de las Americas is an international, voluntary, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization that provides leadership development opportunities for young people; promotes community health in Latin America; and facilitates cross-cultural understanding for the people of the Americas.

AVSC International is a nonprofit organization providing technical assistance to reproductive health care. Working with governments, funding partners, non-governmental organizations, and health care professionals in over 40 countries to help them ensure informed choice, counseling and quality medical services to women and men.

CARE (Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe) is the world's largest private relief and development organization assisting the world's poor in their efforts to achieve social and economic well-being. Its work reaches 48 million people in 66 nations in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. Programs include emergency relief, water and sanitation, microenterprise, natural resource management, population, AIDS prevention, girls' education, primary health care and food security.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its Office of Global Health present the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and has links to the International Emergency and Refugee Health Program, Publications on Refugee Health, the WHO Division of Emergency and Humanitarian Action (EHA) and other Refugee Health links. Also the CDC’s Travel Information site includes sections on reference material (a wealth of information about diseases, locations, specific precautions); disease outbreaks; additional information; geographic health recommendations.

Center for International Health Information (CIHI)  information on the Population, Health, and Nutrition (PHN) sector in developing countries assisted by USAID.

Child Family Health International - placement opportunities for medical students in years 1-4 in two different locations in Ecuador. Includes a student handbook with much information about the sites, the country, what to expect, and indications of other resources.

Christian Connections for International Health  - A membership organization (about 20 listed) that promotes "...international health and wholeness with a Christian perspective." Lists contacts, articles, trip reports, and books and teaching resources.

Council of International Health  - the network includes hundreds of private and public organizations as well as several thousand professionals based in and outside of the US. It helps mobilize a broad, global-health network that can engage policy makers to discuss ways to promote human health and development.

Doctors Without Borders USA (Medecins San Frontieres USA)  - the famous French-originated organization that sends fully qualified health professionals into some of the most challenging parts of the world.

Ethical Issues in IH Policy  - describes a collaboration since 1992 in medical ethics between the Univ. of Colombo and Univ. of Oslo; provides full text discussion papers and extensive links to papers prepared by other organizations on current issues of equity, financing, privatization, costs, service delivery.

EthnoMed  - contains information about cultural beliefs, medical issues and other issues related to health care of certain immigrant groups.

Ford Foundation  - provides information on one of the largest U.S. foundations active in national and international health. Topics of interest for Grant applications include: Asset Building and Community Development, Economic Development, Community and Resource Development, Human Development and Reproductive Health, Peace and Social Justice, Human Rights and International Cooperation, Governance and Civil Society, Education, Media, Arts, and Culture, Education, Knowledge, and Religion.

The Global Health Council is the world's largest membership alliance dedicated to improving health worldwide.

Global Microbial Threats in the 1990s: the report of a U.S. Government interagency working group studying global disease surveillance.

Healthy Cities - describes the Healthy Cities project. This project seeks a comprehensive approach to the development and maintenance of healthy urban life.

International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting social and economic development with women's full participation.

International Development Network (IDN) is a membership organization that provides general information for research, assembly and dissemination of development information from throughout the world covering issues of international importance for professionals. Information about sources of funding for fellowships.

International Federation of Medical Students Associations - represents medical students in >50 countries and provides a forum to address health related concerns and lists activities all over the world including electives, projects and educational programs, as well as working committees, publications, and links with other organizations. There are multidisciplinary Primary Health Care projects in Sudan, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Burma, Mexico, Brazil, and India.

Institute of Medicine (National Academy of Sciences) - sections of relevance to IH include: IOM Program Activities; Board on International Health (and the Board's Publication List).

Interaction: American Council for Voluntary International Action (ACVIA)  - consortium of 154+ nonprofit organizations working worldwide in all aspects of international development and humanitarian assistance on health, educational, and other related fields. US's leading advocate to the world's poor, including disaster relief efforts in Tibet, Sudan, Sierra Leone, North Korea, etc.

International Health Medical Education Consortium (IHMEC)  - information about courses, curricula, annotated sites, and other materials useful for faculty and students interested in international health.

International Health Studies Center of the American Medical Student Association's (AMSA) Creative Funding  - information for both domestic and international service and elective opportunities; useful section on getting funding for IH placements and information on field placements, travel advice, study tours, residencies, IH activism.

International Healthcare Opportunities Clearing House  - sources of funding for healthcare professionals and students who are interested in volunteer work, employment, or studying with under-served communities at home or abroad.

International Medical Corps (IMC)  - is a private, nonsectarian, nonpolitical, nonprofit humanitarian relief organization of volunteer US physicians and nurses that lists programs and job openings for doctors, nurses and other health professionals.

International Development Research Council (IDRC)  - Canada's agency for funding development research, including many health-related projects. Information about current and recent projects, program initiatives, publications, training and funding opportunities.

International Red Cross (ICRC)  - includes a country by country listing of activities and special sections on topical issues such as civil wars, disasters, land mines, etc. Also the site for International Humanitarian Law, armed conflicts and the Geneva convention.

International Travelers Clinic  - produced by the Medical College of Wisconsin/Milwaukee, provides source of information for international travel, including links to other organizations.

Library of Congress Country Studies - detailed and authoritative information on many of the countries of the world prepared by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress.

MacArthur (The John D. and Catherine T.) Foundation  - one of the largest U.S. foundations, with a major commitment to national and international health, development, and population issues. Provides links to resources in the nonprofit and philanthropic world, to organizations in each program area, and to grantees.

MAP International  - a nonprofit Christian relief and development organization promotes the total health of people living in the world's poorest communities by partnering in community health development, disease prevention and eradication, relief and rehabilitation, and global health advocacy.

Ministries of Health  - provides URL links to Ministries of Health (and also of Agriculture and Fisheries) in many different countries located in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and Oceania. Good for browsing the activities and organizational structures of the ministries.

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)  - the WHO's regional office for the Americas. Of particular interest: country health profiles, lists of publications, technical information, and links with other organizations.

Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) - an international, nonprofit organization. Its mission is to improve health, especially the health of women and children. PATH works in partnership with host-country governments and local agencies to assess health problems and identify and implement creative and effective user-based solutions. Programs address a wide variety of topic areas: child and maternal health, reproductive health and family planning, communicable diseases, and financing.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)  - is an organization of health professionals, scientists, and concerned citizens that uses the knowledge and skills of the medical and forensic sciences to investigate and prevent violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.

Population Reference Bureau (PRB)  - information about U.S. and international population trends; includes lists of publications, reprints of newsletters, definitions of demographic terms, resources for teachers and policymakers, and links to numerous other population-related sites.

Population Institute  - a NGO institute working to alert policymakers and the public about the key issues relating to population growth and to the need for population stabilization.

Research funding opportunities  - provides a listing of research resources of all types in the U.S. and in many other industrialized countries. has links to resource institutions.

Rockefeller Foundation  - information about the Foundation, its programs, grant recipients and amounts awarded, and sites where research is being done.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation  - one of the largest U.S. foundations specifically oriented towards health issues. Though the RWJF does not fund international projects, it may be useful in funding or reporting on projects relevant to IH.

Shoreland's Travel Health Online  - Sections include: Country profiles (health, economic, crime, climate, and other data); Travel Medicine Provider (lists of physicians in various USA states and foreign countries specialized in travel medicine); General Travel Health Concerns; Preventive Medications and Vaccines; Summaries of Travel Illnesses; and US Dept. of State Publications.

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) - an organization guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child striving to establish children's rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behavior towards children.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)  - a UN agency concerned with the development process; provides country statistics and rankings according to various development indices, UNDP reports, and publications list. Major focus areas are poverty, gender, environment, and governance.

United Nations & Related Organizations  - index and links to all agencies within or related to the U.N. system.

United Nations Population Information Network  - this network provides information about population growth, distribution, policies, and information resources.

US State Department Travel Warnings and Consular Information Sheets  - country-by-country information relevant to health, safety, entry requirements, medical facilities, consular contact information, drug penalties, and more.

US/Agency for International Development (USAID)  - the independent federal government agency that provides economic development and humanitarian assistance to advance U.S. economic and political interests overseas. Provides a wealth of information about accomplishments, programs, publications and more.

US/Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)  - the principal federal agency concerned with health services and data in the USA. Information about the Office of International Health (DHHS/HRSA/OA/IHA) and the International Health Program Office (DHHS/CDC/IHPO), units within the CDC, can be accessed, as can information about International Health Affairs (DHHS/HRSA/OA/IHA) through the DHHS home page.

Weather  - If you plan to travel, national and international weather forecasts plus lots of more detailed weather-related information.

World Bank  - provides substantial support to health, nutrition and population (HNP) programs, publishes many cross-national reviews, research studies, and country-specific documents on HNP topics, provides country profiles and, through its annual World Bank Report, provides a large amount of statistical information on all the countries of the world.

World Health Organization (WHO)  is a specialized agency of the United Nations with 191 Member States, that promotes technical cooperation for health among nations, carries out programs to control and eradicate disease and strives to improve the quality of human life.

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